Apparatus for making molasses feeds and similar materials



June 13, 1944. H. SCHMIDT APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOLASSES FEEDS ANDSIMILAR MATERIALS Filed Aug. 8, 1941 3 Sheets Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

June 13, 1944. H. H. SCHMIDT 5 APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOLASSES FEEDS ANDSIMILAR MATERIALS Filed Aug. 8,1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR HERMANNHENRY- scHMwr Juhe 13, 1944. H, SCHMIDT 2,351,070

APPARATUS FOR MAKING MOLASSES FEEDS AND SIMILAR MATERIALS Filed Aug. 8,1941 s Sheets-$heet s INVENTOR HERMADW JERRY-SCHMIDT;

. Patented June 13, 1944 APPARATUS Fon MAKING MOLAS sss FEEDS AND smminmrsnms Hermann Hnry Schmidty-Hanover, Kana, assignor to The UniversalRoyalty and Development OompannSt. Joseph, Mo., a corporation j MissouriApplication August 8, 1941, Serial No. 405,962

My invention relates to an apparatus for making molasses feeds, orsimilar materials, and constitutes an improvement over my Patent No.

2,241,425, patented May 13, 1941, on Apparatus for vaporizing andspraying thick liquids. Y

It is a purpose 01 my invention to provide an apparatus of the abovementioned character,

which comprises means for conveying solid material, such as cut dr'yfeed material, in a predetermined path, which leads through a zone intowhich a finely divided liquid, which may be of a viscous character, suchas molasses, is sprayed, so as to engage upon and impregnate the dry or'solidmaterial with the liquid, said conveying means comprising meansfor agitating the mate'- rial while the liquid is beingsprayed thereonand while the material is being advanced along the path that it takes.through theapparatus. The

apparatus is particularly adapted for spraying a thick viscous liquid ona dry material and thoroughly mixing the dry material and the liquid, soas to coat and impregnate all particles of the dry material with saidliquid, and while said apparatus is particularly adapted for use inmanui'or changing the viscosity of the material and facturing what iscommonly known as a molasses feed, comprising cut or chopped solid feedmaterial impregnated with molasses sprayed there on, obviouslythe'apparatus could be used for impregnating or coating other drymaterials with a, liquid. Furthermore, while a liquid is referred toherein, it is to be understood that the liquidmay be composed of aplurality of liquids, that 'have been blended together, or a liquid thatmight carry finely powdered solid material therein, blended therewith.

More particularly my inventionlcomprises an apparatus of the abovementioned character, in which the liquid is finely divided and made intoa substantially vaporous spray, by means or rotating means that whipsthe liquid about in a case ing, so as to break up the same to producethe vaporous material-above referred to, and means spraying the samewhich is of the generaltype shown in the above referred to patent.

It'is one of the purposes of my invention to provide a new andimprovedmeans for centrifugally whirling and spraying a viscous liquid, or

. any other liquid, that is to be finely divided and sprayed ontoanother material.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide an apparatus of theabove mentioned character, comprising means for centrifugally whirl: ingand discharging under centrifugal force a material of a liquid, orsemi-liquid, character,

in a mist-like or vaporous state, on a'material made ,up of pieces ofsolid material, such as a feed material, in which the spraying meansdischarges said vaporized, or finely divided, liquid onto the materialthat is to be impregnated therewith longitudinally of the path of theconveying means, and to provide meansior exposing all portions of thematerial carried along by the conveying means to the action'of theliquid so sprayed, which comprises agitating members forming part of theconveying means that operate to agitate or continuously turn over thecomposition, made up of a dry or finely divided 7 material to beimpregnated byv the liquid, so as to expose all portions thereof to thespray, said agitating means operating transversely of the, length of theconveying means to agitate said cut feed material transversely of thedirection in which the liquid is' discharged by thecentrifugal meansfinely dividing the same.

It is a further purpose or my invention to provide means for controllingthe rate of feed of the liquid, or similar material, that is sprayedonto the feed or similar solid material, and to provide means forcontrolling the rate of feed of said material, so that the two feedingmeans can be relatively adjusted so as to apply to the feed; or similarsolid material any desired quantity of the liquid, or similar material,per unit of volume of said solid material.

While my apparatus is adapted for manufacturing a molasses feedmaterial, or a similar food solid'ingredientand a'liquid ingredientsprayed thereon, in which the solid feed material, which has beenpreviously reduced to a small size by cutting or chopping operations, isfed from a hopperto the conveying. means above referred to, it is aparticular purpose or my invention to provide .an apparatus in whichfeed materials, such as cornstalks, for example, are fed into theapparatus and suitably cut or broken up to permit the use thereof ln themolasses feed, or similar product, and after being so reduced in size orcut up, are fed to the conveying means auto matically,'and then carriedby said feeding means into the spraying zone, where the solid teedmaterial is agitated while the liquid with which it is impregnated isbeing sprayed thereon, after which said material is carried to a pointof discharge where'the same is ready for sacking, or placing in anysuitable containers, without the necessity oi'theating the same or inany other -m'anner puttingith'e sam through a drying op- In order toaccomplish this purpose,

eration. oi the' invention, the operation of the cutting.

feeding, conveying and spraying means is properly synchronized, so as toget theproper feed of the ingredients of the feed product, or other foodproduct, that may be produced in my apparatus, t'dget thedesired'nutritive value thereof per unit of volume.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear asthedescription of the drawings proceeds. I desire to have it understood,how'- ever, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particulardetails shown or described, except as defined in the claims.

,In the drawings;

Fig. 1 is a view in side-elevation, partly broken away, of my improvedmolasses feed producing apparatus, themolassses container being omittedto more clearly show the construction of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view, similar to Fig. 1, of a modificationthereof.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in elevation and partlyin section,of the cutting apparatus for the solid feed material andadjacent parts.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the form of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, onan' enlargedscale, and including the molasses container.

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional View through the centrifugal vaporizingand spraying device, partly broken away and partly in elevation, on anenlarged scale. I

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation of the rotor shown-in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary'perspective view of the rotor shownin Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a section taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a"fra'gmentary detail view of the ratchet end of the feedingmechanism shown in Fig. 2, and g Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail view ofthe crank end thereof.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in Fig. 1

is shown a molasses feed producing apparatus comprising -a feed tableI0, upon which the feed material, such as cornstalks, for example, may

be placed, a feed material cutting apparatus, in-

dicated generally at H, a liquid vaporizing and spraying device,indicatedgenerally at l2, and a conveying and agitating means, indicatedgen- I erally at l3, which .is provided with a housing I4, that isprovided'with a discharge conduit l5 having two discharge outlets i6 andH, on which a sack,-or similar container, may-be placed for dischargingthe material thereinto' after being made by said apparatus.

- The table-like memberl 0 may be provided with any. suitable means forconveying and carrying over a pulley 23 fixed on a shaft 24, which hasthe pulley 25 fixed thereon to rotate therewith,

over which a belt 26 operates, said belt 26 operating over a pulley 21fixed on the main drive vided with a sprocket 32 that drives theconveyor l8. While a certain form of table and conveyor are shown forreceiving the corn stalks, orsimilarfeed material, and for carrying itto the cutter ii, the particular length and style of such solid feedreceiving table and the particular type of conveying means is of noparticular importance to the invention, as any suitable means forcarrying the feed material forwardly into engagement with the cuttermembers of the cutting mechanism I I, may be provided. It is, of course,necessary that the cutter rotate at a much more rapid rate than theconveyor l8 travels. The cutter device carries the cut off pieces ofsolid feed material downwardly as the same rotates in the direction ofthe arrow indicated in Fig. 3, to discharge the same into the upper endof a chute 33.

Mounted in the chute 33 is, preferably, a screen of desired mesh toprevent particles, or ieces, of the feed material, of too large size,from passing-into the conveying apparatus where the liquidingredient isapplied to said material, and in the form of the invention shown in Fig.1 an adjustable feed controlling member 35 is provided in the chuteabove the discharge end thereof, the same being shown as being made inthe form of a slide that can be opened the full width, or any fractionof the width, of the chute, as may be desired. Said adjustable feedcontrolling member 35 is, preferably, located below the screen 34. aswill be obvious from Figs. 1 and 3.

'- able means for driving the main drive shaft 28 the solid feedmaterial, or similar solid material,

such for example, as cornstalks, into the cutting apparatus, saidconveyor being indicated generally at i 8 in Fig. 1, and being of anydesired character that will carry forward and force the stalks, orsimilar pieces of feed material, into engagement with teeth I9, orsimilar cutter members, on a rotary cutter 20 of the cutting apparatus,the number of toothed members 20 provided and the spacing-thereof in" anaxial direction being dependent on the fineness to which it is desiredto cut the material that is fed into the cutter device l-l. Said members20 are mounted on the shaft 2i to rotate therewith,'and said shaft 2i isrotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3, by means of apulley, over which the belt 22 operates, said belt 22 Operating maybeprovided, such as a motor, or any other form of driving means, eitherdirectly connected with said shaft 28 or through a belt and pulley, orother similar drive, of a well known character. In the form of theinvention shown in Fi 1 it is immaterial whether the drive is from sucha source of .power driving the shaft 28 or the shaft 2|, whichever maybe the most convenient, as the two shafts are driven at a predetermineddefinite speed relative to each other. Said main drive shaft 28 isprovided with a pulley 36 keyed to one end thereof, which is grooved toreceive a plurality of V-belts '31, said V-belts 31 operating over thepulley 38 fixed to the rotor shaft 39 (see Figs. 1, 2 and 4). A pinion40 is also fixed on thegshaft- 28,v which meshes with a gear 4| providedon a countershaft 42, which is provided with a bevel gear 43 meshingwith the bevel gear 44, which is flxed on the end of the hollow conveyorshaft 45, which'shaft is mounted in a'bearing 46 near the lower endthereof, and in a bear- 2,351,070 ing 41 in the upper end of the housingl4. The

conveyor mounted on the shaft 45 is thus driven at a predetermineddefinite rate relative to the rate of rotation of the rotor on the rotorshaft 39, and at a definite rate of rotation relative to the rotation ofthe cutter members 20.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 2, instead of providing anadjustable feed controlling member 35, a rotary feed controlling memberis provided near the bottom end of the hopper 48, into which the alreadychopped, or flnely divided, feed material is dumped in any desiredmanner. Said rotary feeding member is provided with side plates 49,between which the blades, or plates, 58 are mounted, that both agitatethe material in the hopper 48 and feed it at a predetermined rate ontothe conveyor member provided in the housing I 4'at its lower end. Therotary feedcontrolling member thus provided is enclosed within ahousing, except where the same empties into the conveyor and where thesame receives the cut feed material from the hopper, side walls andcurved bottom and top walls 5| and 52 being provided for enclosing thefeeding device to direct the material from the hopper onto the conveyor.'The rotary .feeding member is driven in a step by step manner, by meansof a pawl 53cooperating with a gear 54, mounted on. the shaft 55, onwhich said rotary feeding member is fixed, the movements of the pawlbeing determined by means of an arm 89 and projects therethrough at H,as will be obvious from Figs. 1 and 2.

Only the upper and the lower end portions of the screw, or spiralconveyor, have the spiral flanges 61 provided thereon solely forconveying purposes. The portion of the conveyor between the endsthereof, and particularly within the zone in which the liquid is sprayedonto the material that is being carried upwardly in the housing l4 ofthe conveyor, is provided with means for thoroughly agitating the solidingredient of the feed carrying said pawl, pivoted on the shaft 55 andprovided with a counter weight 8|. Said arm 80 ispivoted to a connectingrod 56, which is pivoted on a crank 51 on the shaft 58, the rod 58 beingadjustable on the crank 51 by movement of the pivot member 59 into anyof the openings 82 of the crank, to vary. the throw of the same and thusthe amount of each feeding movement of the pawl produced by the rotationof the crank 51. The shaft 58 is driven from the shaft 42 at a greatlyreduced speed, by means of the pinion 50 on the shaft 42, which mesheswith the gear 6! on the shaft 58;

The shaft 58 is also provided with a pinion 52 fixed thereto, thatmeshes with-the gear 59 on a shaft 84, which is provided with a pulley11, over which a belt 18 operates. The belt [8 drives a pulley on theshaft of a pump 85 of any desired character, for pumping the liquid tothe vaporizing and spraying device in a manner that will bedescribed-below.

The conveyor housing l4 isprovided with a lower inclined end wall 66,to'which the rotary feeding member having the blades or plates 58,leads, or to which the chute 33 leads, as the case may be, in eithercase depositing the cut feed material on the spiral or screw-like flangeportion 81 provided on the conveyor shaft and forming a part 'of thescrew conveyor means for the cut feed material. Said conveyor meansrotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 8, and due tosuch rotation the conveyor will carry the cut solid feedmaterialhpwardly toward the material while the spraying action is takingplace and subsequently thereto, to thoroughly aerate the same and causethe liquid that is sprayed thereon to dry and put the material in propercondition for discharge into containers atthe discharge orifices i5 andH. The means forproviding the agitation of the preferably dry feedmaterial above referred to, comprises a plurality of blades I2, shownmore in detail in Fig. 8, which are arranged spirally along -theconveyor, by cutting out portions 13 of the spiral flange 61 to leave anuninterrupted central portion 91' of said flange and an interruptedperipheral portion thereof, providing a series of spirally arrangedagitator blades 12 operating substantially transversely of the directionin which the entire mass of material is being carried lengthwise 'of theconveyor housing l4 bythe flangestl, 61', and blades 12. It will benoted upon reference to Fig. 8 that the side walls 14 of the housing atthe enlarged portion thereof extend substantially verticallytangentially of the curved wall portion 89 and that the said side wallsflare at 15 toward the top wall 68, so as to provide a mixing chamber,within the conveyor housing l4, through which the housing, or casing, 16of the spraying means extends.

Mounted on the shaft 39 'is a rotor that has the central hub ,portion83, which is provided with an annular opening 84 therein to reduce theweight thereof, said rotor being fixed on the shaft 39. A casing isprovided which comprises a tubular portion 85 thatsurrounds the shaft 39and which is provided with ball bearings 86 for the shaft 39, a spacingsleeve 81 being provided between the ball races of said ball bearings.The tubular casing portion 85 is closed by means of a plate ,88, whichhas a packing element 89 thereon that engages the collar 90 on the shaft39 to prevent leakage of liquid from the casing: The tubular portion 85of the casing is also sealed from the annular casing portion, to bedescribed 4 below, by an annular packing member 9|, which is mo ntedbetween the collar 92 on the shaft and an annular plate 93 fixed to thecasing adjacent grim gf the ball races 89, as will be evident from g.

The annular portion of the casing comprises a wall portion extendingoutwardly from the casing portion 85 at one end thereof having a conicalportion 94 providing an annular wall portion 95 on the inner facethereof that is substantially conical and inclines in a directionoutwardly from r the axial center of the casing toward the central planeof the annular main body portion of the casing. Said outwardly extendingwall'portion also comprises-a conical wall portion 95 that inclinesstill more toward the central plane of the annular body portion toprovide a conical wall portion 91 that extends at an angle to theconical wall portion 95. 'At the outer annular edge Dortion of saidannular wall is an annular flange 98 extending substantially parallel tothe axis of the shaft 39 and an annular flange 99 extendmember, whichhas a--central portion IOI, which is provided with flat inner and outerfaces, the

cated in Fig. 6. The vanes, or blades, are indicated by the numeral I2Iand are all duplicates, except that the same are what might be termed.rights and lefts on oppositesides of the rotor.

flat inner face I02 thereof having a bearing plate .I03 secured thereto,which has a fiat face that extends-parallel to the flat face of theannular member 93 secured on the opposite side of the casing to theplate I03. The cover plate IOI has a conical wall portion I04 thatextends outwardly from the central portion I M and inclines toward theconical wall portion 94 at the sameangle to the central'plane of theannular casing as said wall portion 94, to thus provide an inner conicalwall I05, which inclines toward the inner conical wall 95. The covermember of the housing also has amore sharply inwardly inclined conicalwall portion I06, which is inclined at the same angle as the wallportion 96, and which has a conical inner face II corresponding to theconical inner face 91 of the wall 96, said conical inner facesextending'at the same angle to the central plane of the annular bodyportion and to the walls 95 and I05, so that a symmetrical annularchamber is formed within the -annular body portion. The cover plate isfurther provided with an annular flange I09 that extends substantiallyperpendicularly to the axis of the shaft 39, and with an annular cutaway portion or recess I09, in which the endportion of the flange 98seats when the flanges 99 and I 08 are secured together by means ofthesecuring elements H0. The bottom portion of the housing thus formedis cut away at anangle along the bottom side thereof, as indicated atIII in Figs. 1,

2, 6 and 8, the edges of ,the annular portions 96 and I06 being beveled,as indicated at 2', to provide somewhat thinned edges. of the casingadjacent the opening provided due to the cut away portion III. v

The rotor is provided with flat parallel side walls I I3 on oppositefaces of the hub lying closely adjacent the fiat inner faces of theplate-like member I03 and the annular member 93. Said rotor is providedwith a tapering portion lying outwardly from the hub, indicatedgenerally by the numeral II 4, having opposite conical faces II5 thatextend from the concavely curved portions II6 joining the same with thehub portion of the rotor to parallel wall portions III that lieoutwardly from the wall portions II5 to provide an outer annular portionof uniform; thickness on the rotor, terminating in the curved peripheraledge portion II8. Said curved peripheral edge portion H8 is spaced fromthe annular .wall I 00 at the periphery of the annular casing andprojects through the opening at the cut away portion IIIslightly.

The rotor is provided with blades, or vanes, on the opposite facesthereof. It will be noted that two annular chambers are provided onopposite sides of the rotor within the annular casing, that areconnected by means of an annular passage lying radially outwardly beyondthe curved periphery III? of the rotor. The two sets of vanes on theopposite sides of the rotor are, preferably, staggered from each otherand extendoutwardly from the hub portion H3 at an angle to the radial,so that the inner ends II9 thereof lie to the rear of the outer ends I20thereof as the rotor rotates in'the direction of the arrow indi- Theblades I 2| on one side of the'rotor have an edge portion I22 that liesclosely adjacent and extends parallel to the wall 95,, while those onthe other' side of the rotor have .an edze P rtion I23 that extendsparallel 'to and is closely adjacent the wall I05. Also the blades'onthe one side of the rotor have an edge portion I 24 that extends closelyadjacent and substantially parallel" to the wall portion '91, and theblades on "the other side of the rotor have an edge portion I25 thatextends substantially parallel to and closely adjacent the wall portionI 01. Thus each of the-blades, or vanes, has edges I22 and I23 thatincline toward the central plane of the rotor at a slight angle andedges. I24 and I25 that extend at an oblique angle to said firstmentioned edges, and at a greater angle to the central plane of therotor. portion I26, which extendsover and around the curvedperipheraledge I I9 of the rotor and which has the transverse outer edge I20thereof sharpened somewhat, as will be clear from Fig. 6, and extendingsubstantially parallel to and in close adjacency to the annularcylindricalwall portion I00 at the periphery of the casing.

As the rotor is rotated within the annular casing provided therefor,tlreblades, or vanes, on opposite sides thereof create a violentcentrifugal whirl at high velocity within the two annular chambersprovided on opposite sides of the body portion of the rotor. This causesthe material to be thrown outwardly along the inclined walls 95, I05, 91and I0! toward the annular-passage beyond the outer peripheral edge II9of the rotor, and across the same into the peripheral outer annularportion of the chamber on the opposite side -oflthe rotor from that inwhich the material has been whirled, the agitator members I26, in theannular passage connecting the chambers, engaging the contents thereofas the same pass transversely across said curved edge Hi! to thusfurther act on'the same. As a result the material introduced into thecham bers on opposite sides of the rotor is finely divided andsubstantiallyvaporized into amist-like, or

nebulous, form and discharged through the open .above referred to,result, and the molasses is deposited, in a condition in which it haslost most of its viscosity and its stickiness, onto the dry feedmaterial, and is forcibly injected into the dry feed material-toimpregnate the same, as it will be under full centrifugal force when itleaves the rotor chamber, due to'the fact that the rotor, including thetransverse blade portions I26, projects through the opening produced inthe casing by the cut away portion I I I.

Any suitable means for feeding the liquid to the rotor may be provided.In the forms of. the invention shown the pump 66 withdraws the molassesfrom the tank I21 through an inlet connection I28 and elevates themolasses in the pipe v I29, from which it passes into a pipe I30 throughEach blade has an overhanging stored for long periods of time, myapparatus is outlet pipe I34, returning excess molasses to the top ofthe tank I21. The pipe I30 leads to a fitting I35, from which a pipe I35may extend to a gauge, or other suitable indicating instrument, that maybe provided, which is not of importance to the invention and is notshown.

From the fitting I35 a conduit I3! extends downwardly, being providedwith branches I38 that are connected with the inlet connections I39 onopposite sides of the casing, said inlet connections lying directlyopposite each other and entering the casing, as will be clear from Fig.4, at a point more than 180 from the opening at II I in the casing, theannular portion of the casing extending from the tubular portion 85being indicatedgenerally by the numeral M in Fig. 4, and the cap orcover portion being indicated generally by the numeral MI in Fig. 4. Theinlet connections I39 enter the casing near the hub portion 83 of therotor, but outwardly therefrom, into the chambers provided on oppositesides of the rotor, and the molasses will be engaged by theblades HI andwhipped about in the chambers thus provided in the manner above referredto and as described in the above mentioned patent. By providingtheconical wall portions and the straight edges on the casing and on theblades, respectively, much more accurate machining of the parts can beattained and, as it is desirable that a minimum of clearance be providedbetween the rotor blades and the casing wall, this clearance can bereduced over that obtained by a concave wall and a curved edged blade,by providing the conical'walls and the straight edges above referred to.

It will be seen that as the rotor rotates in the direction indicated bythe arrow in Fig. 6, which would be in a counterclockwise direction asthe mechanism is viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, the molasses, in its finelydivided, less viscous than normal condition, is discharged in a spraycentrifugally from the opening provided in the under side of the'rotorcasing in a direction substantially parallel to the axis, orlongitudinally of the solid direction of movement of the materialcarried along in the conveyor housing I6 by the screw conveyor. At thesame time the blade-like mem bers 72 on the screw conveyor will agitatethe feed ingredients transversely of the direction of the spray whilethis spraying is taking place, and after the material passes thespraying zone it continues to be agitated by the blades 72 until theupper spiral blade portion '61 of the conveyor is reached, whereupon itis merely carried forward into the outlet passage I5, in which a gate M2is provided, operated, by means of a lever 53 to' direct the'completedfeed product, which is in a sufiiciently dried condition that it willnot sour or ferment by thetime it reaches this point, into either theone or the other of the two discharge outlets I6 or ii. r I

The conveyor housing may be provided with means for adding minerals orother powdered materials, or any other supplemental feed materials, tothe material that is being sprayed upon, said means,preferably,'comprising a hopper I50 opening through the top of thehousing into the interior thereof to deposit the added material,

which may be a powdered material, or grain, or

anything of that character, on the conveyor member in the spraying ormixing zone of the same.

also'capable of use for materials that are not of necessity dry, such asgreen corn stalks, clover,

alfalfa, and other damp or green material.

My apparatus is also adapted to. be used for impregnating otherabsorbent finely divided ma-' terials than chopped or cut dry materials,with a liquid. Thus my apparatus is capable of being used for making asweeping compound by spraying the oil and other liquid ingredients ofthe sweeping compound Onto the sawdust, or other similar material,usually used for this purpose, the sawdust being carried along in theconveying means as the liquid is sprayed thereon in. a similar manner tothe feed materials above described. The ieed materials, whether stalks,leaves, straw, hay, or other coarse feed ingredients, and whether dry orgreen, can be generallydescribed by the term fodder and the term fodderis used herein to define such a general class of feed materials, whetherdry or green,'or in a state between a dry and green state. While thecentrifugal vaporizing and spraying and distributing device is describedabove as having molasses supplied thereto, blends. of molasses or otherliquids, and blends of liquid and solid materials, such as molasses anda powdered material, for example, a mineral ingredient to be added tothe feed, may be fed into said centrifugal spraying and distributingdevice, and applied to the material on the conveyor in a similar mannerto that above described. The blending may be accomplished in a mannerdescribed in my Patent No. 2,160,914, patented June 6, 1939. i

What I claim is:

1. In a machine of the character described,

means for conveying dry feed material in a predetermined path, means forfeeding said material to said conveying means, and means for finelydividing and centrifugally spraying -a coating liquid onto said drymaterial while on said conveying means, said spraying meansunrestrictedly discharging said liquid in finely di- .vided form at highvelocity onto said material longitudinally of said path, said conveyingmeans comprising means for agitating said material while having saidliquid sprayed thereon and while being advanced'along said path."

2. In a machine of the character described, means for conveying dry feedmaterial in a predetermined path, comprising a housing and a screwconveyor therein, means for feeding said material to said conveyingmeans, and means for finely dividing and spraying a coating liquid ontosaid dry material while on said conveying means, comprising an annularcasing extending While dry feed material, such asdry stalks of 7 corn,or other grains-are preferably, utilized for producing the feed materialby means of my apparatus, particularly where the same is to be into saidhousing, means for centrifugally whirling said liquid in said casing,said casing having a wide discharge slot at its periphery within saidhousing extending lengthwise of said conveying means, said meansprojecting through said slot, said screw conveyor comprising means foragi-- tating said material transversely of said path of movement in thezone within said housing over which said liquid is sprayed thereon andwhile being advanced along said path.

3. In a machine of the character described, means for conveying dry feedmaterial in a predetermined path, means for feeding said mate'- rial tosaid conveying means, and means for finely dividing and centrifugallyspraying a coatingliquid onto said dry material while on said conveyingmeans, said means unrestrictedly centrifugally discharging'liquid over adefined zone of saidconveying means in finely divided form, saidconveying means comprising a housing, a screw conveyor in said housingand means for rotating said screw conveyor to advance material engagedthereby longitudinally of said housing, said conveyor comprising aplurality of spirally arranged combined agitating and conveying membersin said zone over which said liquid is discharged.

- 4. In a machine of the character described, rotary means forcentrifugally whipping and spraying molasses by unrestricted dischargefrom the periphery of said rotary means, screw means for conveying dryfeed material into the spray discharged by said rotary means, said screwmeans rotating about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said rotarymeans and comprising means for agitating said dry material as saidmolasses is being sprayed thereon, means for discharging thedry feedmaterial onto said conveying means, and means for driving said conminedrelative speeds.

5. In a machine of the character described, means for conveying feedmaterial in a predetermined path, and means for finely dividing andcentrifugally distributing a viscous liquid onto said feed material infinely divided condition at high velocity while on said conveying meanscomprising a housing having rotatable impelling means therein creating acentrifugal whirl of said liquid from which said liquid isunrestrictedly discharged onto said conveying means, said conveyingmeans comprising means for agitating said feed material transversely ofsaid path while said liquid is being centrifugally distributed onto thesame in a direction generally length- .wise of said path. 7

' 6. In a machine of the characterdescribed, a

fodder cutter, positively driven means for feeding fodder to saidcutter. rotary liquid spraying a means, meansextending through thespraydistated by said conveying means within the zone in which saidliquid is sprayed thereon while said feed material is being sprayed withsaid liquid.

9. In a machine of the class described, a housing, conveying meanstherein for moving material lengthwise of said housing, a centrifugaldistributor discharging into said housing onto said conveying means,means for feeding material onto said conveying means, means forcontrolling the amount of material fed by said feeding means, means forsupplying a blend of mobile materials to said distributor, and means forcontrolling the amount of said blend supplied to said distributor, saiddistributor spraying" the blended material therefrom unrestrictedly inthe form of a mist by centrifugal force about an axis transverse to thelength of said housing onto the material on said conveying means, saidconveying means agitating said material transversely of the length ofveying means and spraying means at predetersaid housing while in saidspray. a

10. In a machine of the character described, means for conveying feedmaterial in a predetermined path, and means for finely dividing andcentrifugally unrestrictedly distributinga mobile material by, rotationabout an axis transverse to said path onto said feed material while onsaid conveying means, said conveying means comprising means foragitating said feed material transversely to the direction of dischargeof said mobil material and transversely of said path while said 1 mobilematerial is being centrifu'gally distributed onto the same. [J

11. In a machine of the character described, an inclined tubularhousing, a conveyor extending longitudinally of said housing operatingto convey material from the lower to the upper end thereof, means forfeeding material into said housing onto the lower end of said conveyorby charged by said spraying means for conveying out fodder at acontrolled rate into said spray while on said conveying means, means fordischarging cut fodder directly from said cutter onto said conveyingmeans, and means for driving said cutter, conveying means and sprayingmeans at predetermined relative speeds.

7. In a machine of the class described, a housing, conveying meanstherein, a centrifugal distributor discharging into said housing ontosaid conveying means, means for feeding cut feed onto said conveyingmeans, means for controlling the amount of material fed by said feedingmeans, means for supplying a blend of mobile materials to saiddistributor, means for controlling the amount of said blend supplied tosaid distributor.

said distributor spraying the material therefrom in the form of a mistby centrifugal force onto the material on said conveying means, andmeans means, said conveyor and said centrifugal tr'ibuting means. 1

8. In a machine of the character describe dividing and spraying a liquidonto said out solid material while on said conveying means, .saidconveying means comprisingmeans for agitatins saidanaterial while havingsaid liquid sprayed thereon and while being advanced along said path,and means for adding a solid finely divided ingredient to the feedmaterial while being agi- 1Q gravity, means'extendin'g into said housingadjacent the lower end thereof for centrifugaliy discharging a mobilematerial into said housing onto the material on said conveyor over azone extending lengthwise of said housing from ad.-

jacent said lower end thereof to .a point spaced from the upper endthereof, and means depending from the upper end of said housing beyond.said zone for receiving material from said conveyor and dischargingthesame into a container.

12. In a machine of the character described, an

inclined tubular housing, a screw conveyor extending longitudinally ofsaid housing operating to convey material from the lower to the upperend thereof, mean for feeding material into said housing onto the lowerend of said conveyor by gravity, means extending into said housing ad-Jacent th lower end thereof for centrifugally disfor synchronizing theoperation of said feeding charging a mobile material into said housingonto the material on said conveyor over a zone extending lengthwise ofsaid housing from adjacent said lower end thereof toa point spaced fromthe upper end thereof, comprising a casing and a rotor in said casingrotating about an axis perpendicular to the axis of said conveyor, saidcasing extending into said housing and being cut away to provide a slotthrough which the periphery of said rotor projects into said hous- Iing, and means depending from the upper end of said housing beyond saidzone for receiving material from said conveyor and discharging the sameinto a container.

13. In a machine of the character described,

1 an inclined tubular houting, a screw conveyor extendinglongitudinallyof said housing operating to convey material from thelower to the upper end thereof, means for feeding material into saidhousing onto the lower end of said conveyor by gravity, means extendinginto said housing adjacent the lower end thereof for centrifug'allydischarging a mobile material into said housing onto the material onsaid conveyor over a zone extending lengthwise of said housing fromadjacent said lower end thereof to a point spaced from the upper endthereof, comprising a casing, and a rotor in saidcasing rotating aboutan axis perpendicular to the axis of said conveyor, said casingextending into said housing and being cut away to provide a slot throughwhich the periphcry of said rotor projects into said housing, saidhousing having an enlarged portion providing a mixing chamber above saidconveyor over said zone and agitating means on said conveyor in saidzoneoperating transversely of the length thereof.

14. In a machine of the character described, an inclined tubularhousing, a screw conveyor extending longitudinally of saidhousingoperating to convey material from the lower to the upper endthereof. means for feeding material into said housing onto the lower endof said conveyor by gravity, means extending into said housing adjacentthe lower end thereof for centrifugally discharging a mobile materialinto saidhousing onto the material on said conveyor over a zoneextending lengthwise of said housing from adjacent said lower endthereof to a point spaced from the upper end thereof, comprising acasing, and a rotor in said casing rotating about an axis perpendicularto the axis'of said conveyor, said casing extending into said housingand being cut away to provide a slot through which the periphery of saidrotor projects into said housing, said housing having an enlargedportion providing a mixing chamber above said conveyor over said zone,agitating means on said conveyor in said zone operating transversely of'the length thereof, and a hopper on the upper side of said 7 housing atsaid enlarged portion nearer the upper end thereof than said casinghaving a discharge outlet leading into said housing within said zone.

15. In a machine of the character described, a feed cutter, means forconveying feed to said cutter, an inclined tubular housing, a conveyorextending longitudinally of said housing operating to convey materialfrom the lower to the upper end thereof, means for feeding material intosaid housing onto the lower end of said conveyor from said cutter bygravity, comprising a chute extending from said cutter to the lower endof said housing, adjustable means controlling the rate of feed of saidcut feed through said chute, means extending into said housing adjacentthe lower end thereof for centrifugally unrestrictedly discharging amobile material into said housing onto the material on said conveyorover a zone extending lengthwise of said housing from adjacent saidlower end thereof to a point spaced from the upper end thereof, andmeans depending from the upper end of said housing beyond said zone forreceiving material from said conveyor and discharging the same into acontainer.

16. Ina machine of the character described, means for conveying amaterial ,to be coated in a restricted predetermined path, means forfinely dividing and centrifugally distributing a mobile coating materialby rotation about an axis transverse to said path and unrestricteddischarge from the whirl created by such rotation under centrifugalforce onto said material to be coated while on said conveying means,said conveying means comprising means for agitating said material to becoated transversely to the direction of discharge of said mobile coatingmaterial and while said mobile material is being centrifugallydistributed onto the same.

.I-IERMANN HENRY SCHMIDT.

